1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a seat assembly for an automotive vehicle having a seat cushion and seat back which are selectively movable between a seating position and a stowed position. More particularly, the invention relates to a seat assembly having a pair of front legs for supporting the seat cushion and a linkage assembly for retracting the front legs in response to movement of the seat assembly from the seating to stowed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive vehicles include seat assemblies for supporting occupants above a floor in the vehicle. Seat assemblies include a seat cushion and a seat back. Typically, the seat cushion is coupled to the vehicle floor by front and rear legs. The front and rear legs are attached to striker assemblies mounted in the floor for selective attachment to the vehicle floor. It is known that such seat assemblies may be forwardly or rearwardly stowed in recesses in the floor of the vehicle in response to actions performed by an occupant of the vehicle.
For rear seats, it is widely known to provide riser assemblies between the seat cushion and the floor of the vehicle to allow selective tumbling of the seat between a generally horizontal seating position, an upright folded position, and a stowed position within a recess formed in the floor of the vehicle. The front legs of such rear seat assemblies need to be retracted prior to stowing of the seat within the recess in the floor of the vehicle. The refraction system should be robust and allow for repeated movement of the front legs between a seated position for supporting the seat cushion in the horizontal seating position and a retracted position recessed against the bottom of the seat cushion. The retraction system should accommodate movement of the front legs between the retracted position and the seating position when stowed by an occupant without failure of the retraction system.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a front leg retraction system that is reliable and will accommodate movement of the front legs between retracted and seating positions without failure of the retraction system.